I couldn't upload the column myself yesterday, and
had to just send it to an RPGamer staff member. My finely tuned
rut system thrown out of whack, I forgot to
spell check/proofread the later half of the column. Joy!

In other news, I received more letters today than any other: 204.
Well, give or take a few -- some flargg thought it'd be funny to send
ten copies of the same letter.

Where's Woosley?

Greetings, Thor

I just want to know one simple thing. What ever happend to that guy
that did the translation for FF VI? From what I've heard it was almost
a perfect translated game, and then to try to read games like
Xenogears and Final Fantasy tatics (especially FFT, good lord). is
just horrific. Did that guy get fired or somethilng, because he really
needs to come back and work for Square and do some decent
translations. For some odd reason I dred the Translation of FF VIII.

- Slayer X4

Ted Woosley is now held captive by the folks at Crave. Recently he's been
working on an 'FF7 done right' RPG titled Shadow Madness. Since this game was
not only developed by Aericans (no need for the messy localization
process) and the script was handled by Ted Woosley, expect a story
the likes of which we haven't seen since Baulder's Gate for the PC.
(In other words: Few typos, jokes that actually make you laugh, and
a storyline you can understand without consulting the RPGamer
message boards.)

What's with the questions about indistry types all of a sudden?

Hello oh, Thor...I just had a simple question, We all know Yoshitaka Amano
designed art for FF1-6 and Kartia, but I was watching "Vampire Hunter D"
and seen his name in the credits, do you know anything about this, and if
he did designed for that movie, what other works did he do???

- Nick Anderson

Yes, Yoshitaka "lanky albinos rule" Amano did indeed do the character design
for Vampire Hunter D. That's how Amano got started -- Anime. His past projects
include G-Force, Time Bokan and the ultra-surreal Angel's Egg.

Will they spoil main points of Final Fantasy VIII in commercials like they
did in with Final Fantasy VII by showing Cloud laying Aeris to rest or
when red XIII (who is asexual somehow) running at the end of the game with
his kids?

It's unavoidable to spoil some of a game if the only thing you show is
FMV. Since FMV details only major plot developments -- you won't catch
anyone spending hours rendering Cloud cleaning dog poo off of his
boots -- it's hard to show any without spoiling something.
However, using a clip of Aeris sinking into the water, her eyes closed,
with the text "A LOVE THAT CAN NEVER BE" flashing across the screen
is a bit too much.

We can only hope Square will do the right thing and show FMV of
cool explosions and whatnot, instead of anything which would
give away who dies, who lives, and what happens at the end
of Final Fantasy 8. Not that I expect to know what happens
after completing the game, going by the current trend in
RPGs, but it's the thought that counts.

The middle of the week: Correction city.

Further nitpicking ahead!

According to Next Generation's lexicon, a second party /publishes/ games
exclusively for one platform. They don't create the games and have the
console manufacturer publish them. For example, Square used to be a
current second party publisher for Nintendo. :)

"It seems there are no tigermen around" is from Ogre Battle, when you try
to use a Full Moon Stone with a full Party. Pretty stupid, if you ask me.
Werewolves were better anyway. But the tigermen were purdy. ;D Anyhoo,
that's where it's from.

Dear "Thor", if that's even your real name, you filthy racist!
Using Mr. Thomas's insanely (*hint*) logical theory proposed in his
letter, in which he refered to you as a racist and gave astounding (to say
the least) proof that you, Mr. Antrim are a racist; I decided to compile a
list of things in March 17's article that prove you are, indeed, a racist.

"Welp, todays column turned out to be average length instead of short
after all." ~Refering to RPGamer's readers as "Welps" is obviously racist.
Making comments about their length is also blatantly racist.

"Another fine example of a "perfect" question." ~This comment shows obvious ties to
the KKK by showing that you believe in a "master" race of "perfect"
questions.

"A little bit of fluff located in the dwarf castle..." ~Refering to a mythical race of short people is totally racist...you make
me ill Mr. Antrim.

"Which is, sadly, a lot more than you can say for
most of the game's music. " ~Cruely mocking a video game's music is
racist...and you get +10 racist points because the man that composed said
music was Japanese. *SHAME!*

"Not as bad as Drew goose-stepping down
RPGamer's halls in that damn Sailor Mars costume....." ~Making fun of
people because of their sexual persuasion is racist.

"The moral of this story is.." ~HEY! hold on! Don't you dare try to
force your sick, twisted morals on me you wacko neo-nazi, cookie-gobbling
menace!!!

Thank goodness for peopole like Tom! Without his kind, the world might
actually become a place of enlightenment and happiness, filled with
understanding and love, all encompassed by a gentle aura of witty Antrim
humor. God bless you Tom...you're a true American (oops..I'm racist now)
hero!

- Penance

That Penance, I tell ya.... what a no good racist.

I know this letter
belongs with the rest of the 'Tommy' replies, but I thought it was funny
enough to stand alone -- s'not like he was making valid arguments; rather he was
making me bust a gut. Which is every bit as painful as it sounds.

Review the reviewers?

God of Electromagnetic Pulses of Light Energy:

I agree with your rant fully. Reviewers have to be more critical! Once
I applied for a position as a game reviewer for the local newspaper. I
told them I would allow the readers to know what games to avoid, and which
ones were worth renting or buying. They denied my the position because
they said I should "give all games a chance." Meaning that I should give
high ratings to all games. Sheesh. (BTW... as I type, I'm reading the
review of some other guy who got hired, and it gives super-high ratings to
a game that sucks.)

The problem is not just that the reviewers get involved in games, but
that high ratings look better. They make the reader "feel good," thereby
making the reviews column more popular. People don't want to read a review
claiming that they paid (or are planning to pay) $40 for a bad game.
Sometimes, editors and reviewers alike sense this, and they appeal to the
fans rather than inform the masses.

It sounds like your local newspaper cares more about keeping companies
happy than review accuracy. Can you imagine if all movie reviews
were positive? How about restaurant reviews? Say, I wonder if a restaurant
reviewer spots some nasty health hazard, would he mention it, or would
he, ahem, give the business a chance?

"Just eat around the rat..."

No offense, but I think you're missing the entire point of an RPG review.
RPGs and the rest of the gaming world are two entirely separate entities,
and certainly two separate "types" of people. Most people can play just
about any game, but it seems to me that RPGamers only play RPGs...take me
for instance. I rarely play anything BUT RPGs. I think that reviews are
taken more from the perspective of someone who thoroughly enjoys the
genre, rather than just any gamer. Most people stick to what they like,
and the only people that really read RPG reviews are those of us who play
them. The only reason FF7 attracted new gamers is because Square
capitalized on the flashy eye candy. So, did BoF3 deserve an 8? In
comparison to the other RPGs I've played in my lifetime, yes. Because RPGs
focus mainly on story, and less on graphics, we can make a valid
comparison to older games in the genre. When I read a review, I don't
*want* a flat out rating of how the game looked, sounded and played -- I
want to know how it made the reviewer feel, and what their overall feeling
was of the game. We're just a bunch of right brainers, you know what I
mean? :)

- Tadrith Skandrakae

My gripe was with professional reviews, not fan reviews.
A fan reviews a game because he loves it. A professional reviews a game
because that's his job. I've no way of knowing just how much of an impact
good reviews make on game sales, but lets just say that if every
publication gave a game all 9's, then people would be a lot more friendly
to the idea of buying it. Now, if all RPGs were given good reviews,
simply because of their genre and regardless of quality, there's not much
motivation for developers to create outstanding games. Just pump out crappy
RPG clones, reviewers will rave, and you'll make a bundle now that RPGs are
hip. Sound good? Of course. And that's what I'm worried about.

You're right,
though; text is just as, if not more important than the overall rating. My favorite site for
reviews is TotalRPG. Not only do they
give you a huge review, they fill it with tons of little factoids
and did away with the "overall" review stat. Hot damn.

I'm gonna get it this weekend. I'm just so naughty!

Hey Thor,

Can you give me a picture of Drew in his(her?) Sailor Mars outfit? That
would just make my day.

You said that "Everything English sounds classy" today (3/17), citing your
example of "arse" instead of "ass." Unfortunately, arse does *not* mean
ass. Yes, I know the dictionary lists it as a vulgar British term meaning
buttocks, but this is not a correct historical usage.

Hence the quote in Gibson's Braveheart, "He had thunder coming from his
ass and lightning from his arse."

I don't want to be crude, so I'll just allude to it: if thunder comes from
the ass, and lightning from the arse, which end do you suppose the arse
is? :-)

Um. Eww.

Wait a minute, according to one of my trusty Elder Gods (a vile creature
by the name of DkPhoenix -- nice guy once ya get to know him), the line
is: "Kills men by the hundreds, and if he were
here he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes and bolts
of lightning from his arse." I'm afraid without the political might
of Braveheart backing your claim, I just can't be sure.

Idiot, idiot, who's got the idiot?

"When took the position of Q&A Dude at RPGamer, I was given but two
rules: Don't insult a company directly, and don't print a reader's
letter just
to bash
him."

When took the position of Q&A Dude at RPGamer?

Yes, I forgot to type out the "I". Leaving out words is a common mistake,
one which is hard to catch because it's so easy to "fill in" the missing
words mentally at first glance. I doubt others had trouble, ahem,
understanding the sentence.

"Therefore, instead of my original idea of replying with "You, sir, are
an idiot", I will give a detailed explanation of why Tommy is incorrect,
and leave it up to you guys to decide he's an idiot on your own."

"Unfit for Print? No. Silly? Yes."

"Then comes the first sign that Tommy isn't playing with a full deck:"

"The last bit of proof that Tommy was dropped more times than a hot potato
during infancy" "I like to imagine him currled up in a ball on his floor,
drool rolling down slack lips, pasty white skin glistening with sticky
sweat, eyes clenched tight with pain, coughs wracking his frail body,
blood seeping from... well, you get the idea."

"Not even Tommy could screw this one up."

Way to not bash the reader! You sure made a well thought out argument,
that let's us decide for ourselves that Tommy is an idiot...you sure
didn't do something lame like throw in a bunch of unprofessional,
inappropriate, and rude comments.

Tommy an idiot? I think not, you on the other hand better hope someday
that you actually grow up.

Oh and I'm pretty sure currled isn't a word.

- Ash

My apologies, Ash. I figured most people would catch the sarcasm.
I sure hope Mike doesn't read todays column, or I'm as good as
fired!

Currled? Another mistake, not much of a big deal. I wrapped up the column
at noon -- and I hadn't slept yet -- so there were bound to be
a few errors. (Some people count sheep, I respond to letters
from politically correct enforcers.)

I'd like to wrap this up by stating the obvious: Ash agrees
with Tommy's letter. I repeat, Ash did not find anything wrong
with Tommy's arguments. That is all.

Hey,

The response you gave to the guy who complained was just plain awesome.
Thanks for making me laugh.

- Michael

Darnit, Michael! Don't laugh in front of Ash, it will make him
jealous. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a sense of humor,
you know. You should be ashamed of yourself.... :D

The last, last, last on Sucky Sephiroth.

I'm probably not the only person to point this out, but the guy who claims
that "Seraphim" is the correct term isn't correct. "Seraphim" is the
(proper) plural form of seraph, just as Cherubim is the plural of cherub.
The Seraphim would refer to the entire class of angel, not just a single
one. Of course, I don't see what all the bother is about. I've given up
trying to figure out some of the names in video games. How come no one
has gone off on the "Bad Rap Sample" that Hojo conjures?

Er, wha?

Is it something
that could kill Puff Daddy's career, or is it a mistranslation, or is it
nonsense? And finally, to set this matter to rest, tell everyone to look
in the Japanese FF7 FAQ that's on RPGamer. It translates the Japanese
name of it to "Seraph Sephiroth". So, there it is. Mistranslation, plain
and simple. No Hebrew involved.

- Kalrac

Thank you. Thank you for ending my misery. I love you, Kalrac. Marry me.
I don't even care if you're male, I just want to repay you any way I can.
Except sexually. Ya damn sicko.

Err... Prozac cookie thing.
Lore was there right from the beginning.
As in "Lorelai say Thor no get cookies today. Thor sad."
Which was on the 16th instead of the 18th as you specified.
The day after was when the prozac was involved, in fact!
You dunno your own column! ;D